Partitioning the multi-scale effects of human activity on the occurrence of riparian forest birds

Conservationists, managers, and land planners are faced with the difficult task of balancing many issues regarding humans impacts on natural systems. Many of these potential impacts arise from local-scale and landscape-scale changes, but such changes often covary, which makes it difficult to isolate and compare independent effects arising from humans. We partition multi-scale impacts on riparian forest bird distribution in 105 patches along approximately 500 km of the Madison and Missouri Rivers, Montana, USA. To do so, we coupled environmental information from local (within-patch), patch, and landscape scales reflecting potential human impacts from grazing, invasive plant species, habitat loss and fragmentation, and human development with the distribution of 28 terrestrial breeding bird species in 2004 and 2005. Variation partitioning of the influence of different spatial scales suggested that local-scale vegetation gradients explained more unique variation in bird distribution than did information from patch and landscape scales. Partitioning potential human impacts revealed, however, that riparian habitat loss and fragmentation at the patch and landscape scales explained more unique variation than did local disturbances or landscape-scale development (i.e., building density in the surrounding landscape). When distribution was correlated with human disturbance, local-scale disturbance had more consistent impacts than other scales, with species showing consistent negative correlations with grazing but positive correlations with invasives. We conclude that while local vegetation structure best explains bird distribution, managers concerned with ongoing human influences in this system need to focus more on mitigating the effects of large-scale disturbances than on more local land use issues. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

森林公园一些基本理论问题的探讨──兼谈自然保护区、风景名胜区及森林公园的关系

对森林公园的概念、性质、功能、分类等理论问题及森林公园与国外国家公园、自然保护区和风景名胜区的关系进行了分析和讨论,并从科学哲学的角度对基本理论研究的特点进行了思考．同时,对自然保护与公众游乐的关系也提出了作者的看法．     

城镇地价监测点的地价测算分析

城镇地价监测点的土地价格是由点到面的对城镇地价的总体反映,其价格的测算与确定直接影响着政府部门对整个城市地价水平的把握和控制。为此,根据地价监测点在城镇内不同用地类型、不同区域和不同土地级别中的分布,确定测算地价监测点最佳方法,然后具体分析和测算监测点的修正系数,最后计算出监测点地价,从而形成一套完整的地价监测点土地价格测算模式。     

开封市土地储备潜力规模研究

合理的土地储备规模不仅能保障社会经济的发展,还能避免土地的闲置与浪费,因此研究土地储备规模具有重要意义。笔者通过运用GM（1,1）模型预测出,到2020年开封市新增城镇建设用地的需求规模及农业人口数量,结合开封市2006-2020年土地利用总体规划预测出目标年城镇建设用地的总供给规模,再基于集约节约利用方式,预测出未来可节约城镇建设用地的潜力,从而得出开封市在目标年的土地储备规模。根据本研究思路测算出,开封市2020年土地储备规模为26036.22 hm2（含土地储备增量规模9990.35 hm2和存量规模16045.87 hm2）,这对于开封市优先盘活存量土地,有效控制建设用地占用农用地具有重要的现实意义。     

Farmlink: promoting conservation buffers farmer-to-farmer

Farmer-to-farmer outreach was used within a targeted watershed to promote the installation of conservation buffers. In this program called “FarmLink”, four farmers/landowners were employed part-time as “advisors” and trained by University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Natural Resources District personnel. Topics included basic buffer design and benefits, availability of incentive programs, and sales techniques. These individuals then contacted their neighbors to explain the need for and benefits of buffers and other conservation practices. In early 2003, 42 landowners were contacted, leading to contracts for the establishment of 16 separate conservation practices on 24.8 ha (61.3 acres) of farmland. These included just over 8 ha (20 acres) of grassed waterways or similar plantings and 14 ha (35 acres) of streamside buffers. In addition, because of information received in the training sessions, one of the advisors installed 1.7 ha (4.3 acres) of streamside buffers, 0.45 ha (1.1 acres) of grassed waterways, and 2.0 ha (5.0 acres) of grasses and forbs on his own land. During these contacts, it became apparent that: (1) many farmers and landowners were not familiar with the multitude of programs available to assist with the installation and maintenance of conservation practices; and (2) landowners generally appreciated the personal touch of someone coming out to talk directly to them, pointing out specific areas on their land where conservation practices could best be implemented, discussing available compensation programs, and describing management needed to help ensure practice success. Although one-to-one contacts cannot be used in all cases, it was demonstrated to be effective in this watershed.     

Controls on early post-fire woody plant colonization in riparian areas

Fire in riparian areas has the potential to influence the functions riparian vegetation provides to streams and aquatic biota. However, there is little information on the effects of fire on riparian areas. The objectives of the present study were to: (i) determine how fire severity interacts with riparian topographic setting, micro-environmental conditions, and pre-fire community composition to control post-fire regeneration; (ii) determine how riparian regeneration patterns and controls change during early succession; and (iii) determine how critical riparian functions are influenced by and recover after fire. Study locations included the Biscuit Fire in southwestern Oregon and the B&B Complex Fire in the Cascade Mountain Range of west-central Oregon, USA. We measured post-fire woody species regeneration, and measured factors such as fire severity, pre-fire species composition, and stream size as potential factors associated with post-fire regeneration patterns. At a relatively coarse spatial scale, patterns in post-fire colonization were influenced by elevation. At finer spatial scales, both conifer- and hardwood-dominated riparian plant communities were self-replacing, suggesting that each community type tends to occur in specific ecological settings. Abundant post-fire regeneration in riparian areas and the self-replacement of hardwood- and conifer-dominated communities indicate high resilience of these disturbance-adapted plant communities.     

Influence of wildfire severity on riparian plant community heterogeneity in an Idaho,USA wilderness

Despite the increasing recognition of riparian zones as important ecotones that link terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and of fire as a critical natural disturbance, much remains unknown regarding the influence of fire on stream-riparian ecosystems. To further this understanding, we evaluated the effects of mixed severity wildfire on riparian plant community structure and composition in headwater streams of the Big Creek Watershed of the Frank Church ‘River of No Return’ Wilderness of central Idaho. Five years after a large stand-replacing fire, we conducted riparian vegetation surveys at sixteen reaches across a range of burn types. Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling (NMS) and Multi-Response Permutation Procedure (MRPP) analyses showed an overall shift in community composition and structure between vegetation at unburned and severely burned reaches. Although total plant cover was significantly less at severely burned areas, recovery of the deciduous understory was apparent. Severely burned reaches were characterized by a marked increase in cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum). Reaches that were exposed to low-severity fire were indistinguishable from unburned reaches relative to vegetation community composition and structure, pointing to a possible disturbance threshold that may need to be crossed in order to alter riparian plant communities.     

专题学习网站在中职学校《蔬菜栽培》课程中的教学设计

立足于冀南地区农业中职学校的《蔬菜栽培》课程设置情况,利用现代教育技术和专题学习网站平台的理论与技术,组建、实施了蔬菜栽培专题学习网站式的教学设计,课题以行动研究方法的计划、实施、观察、反思4个环节为基础,开展了不同内容的多轮教学设计与实施,探究专题学习网站在蔬菜栽培课程中的应用研究。     

滨水植物景观的营造探析——以荆门市凤凰湖滨水公园为例

强调滨水植物景观营造是一个系统工程,只有根据滨水植物景观的特点进行问题分析,才能设计出合理的滨水景观植物,在此基础上分析了荆门市凤凰湖滨水公园良好的湿地自然环境,并从植物景观设计、植物景观配置模式方面具体分析了凤凰湖公园滨水植物景观,研究了其植物景观营造的策略,强调只有充分研究凤凰湖湿地的特点,根据滨水特性对植物景观进行规划,才能保证滨水植物与自然环境的协调,才能促使植物景观具有一定的观赏价值,从而为荆门市凤凰湖滨水公园景观设计创造优越的条件。     

The role of the UK conservation agencies in protecting river flows

Abstract An outline is given of the scale and nature of special wildlife designations in the UK river network, the general approach of the UK conservation agencies to their evaluation and management, and the specific way in which impacts of river flows are handled. The need for a holistic ecological and biodiversity view of water resource impacts on river systems is stressed, within which the specific needs of individual species, such as Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., can be framed. An approach founded on the provision of a natural flow regime within a natural physical channel not only provides the most suitable conditions for characteristic riverine wildlife to flourish but also provides the best local defence against global climate change. Arguments are made for a future focus on the generic evidence base for flow targets and its strengthening through strategic and demonstrably fit‐for‐purpose research. The practical constraints to an approach based on protection of the natural flow regime are discussed. Ultimately, transparent separation and consideration of what river ecosystems really need, and what can realistically be provided, is the key to shared ownership of the water resource dilemma.